Tips for Creating a Happy Work Environment at Your Nonprofit

Much goes into creating a successful non-profit organization. Along with carefully planning how your organization will be effective, consider how you will attract and keep experienced employees. The staff of a non-profit organization become a vital part of its success.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, non-profit organizations account for over 10 percent of private sector employment. How will you stand out as an employer among other organizations? Consider these tips for creating a happy work environment from the start of your organization.

Encourage a Healthy Work-Life Balance

Let all employees know that they're free to have a healthy work-life balance. Try to accommodate schedule requests when employees need to be free for family events. Never demand too much overtime. Offer to compensate employees for going to one or two wellness workshops a year. Don't ask employees to take work home with them.

Also, if this is feasible for your organization, be flexible with start and stop times. For example, if an employee prefers to work from 10 to 6 instead of the typical 9 to 5 schedule, let them. Having a job that fits around an employee's life can motivate them to work harder and stay at a job longer.

Plan Optional Activities

One effective way to help employees get to know one another outside of work is to plan optional after-work activities. Whether you want to go all out and try to organize a sports team that meets once per week or you simply want to try to organize a group happy hour event once per month, the effort can be endearing to employees.

But keep this is in mind: not every worker will be enthusiastic about going out with their co-workers after spending a full day in the office with them. That's why activities should be optional with no negative consequences for those who choose not to attend.

Allow Trusted Employees to Work from Home

Being able to work from home is a big plus for some employees. Whether workers need to be able to better meet the needs of their family or simply prefer to focus on work in a private home office, highly accomplished employees may choose to work for your non-profit because it offers this perk.

Support telecommuting in a way that works for your company and is fair to employees. You may not automatically trust a new employee to work from home. However, after a dedicated employee has worked in the office for an appropriate length of time, you may know what they are capable of achieving and be better able to monitor the work they do from home.

Ask for Objective Feedback

Consider having a comment box where people can anonymously leave feedback for you. Leave the comment box outside where others won't see who leaves the comments and provide a blank standard form to enable an employee to quickly offer constructive criticism. Encourage all employees to use it regularly.

This can be a little tricky. Never gossip about the feedback you receive with any employee. If someone leaves a complaint against a fellow employee, be careful with how you handle it. Only discuss it with the person who is being criticized.

Allow the feedback system to be a positive opportunity for employees. Regularly thank people for being willing to share their thoughts to help you make positive changes within the organization. If the feedback hurts your feelings sometimes, never call out an employee for criticism even if you think you know who left the comment.

Finally, if you want to start a non-profit organization, contact The Non-Profit Assistance Corp. We can help you at any stage of the creation of a charity. The world needs more dedicated non-profit organizations to help solve a variety of problems and provide relief to those in need. Go forward with your non-profit aspirations to help others and fulfill your own dreams.